18 MORE SHIPS ARE SOLASOLV SUN-SCREENED

At 306,999 dwt ‘Eagle Vermont’ is the biggest ship in AET’s fleet and one of the 18 ships that are currently being supplied with SOLASAFE® anti glare roller screens for the navigation bridge windows to reject glare, heat and uv radiation from the sun.

AET is a leading worldwide petroleum shipping company employing more than 3000 highly skilled and dedicated people across the world, to operate a technically advanced fleet of 74 tankers. The business, managed from regional centres in London, Houston, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, moves crude oil and refined products for the world’s oil companies and trading houses and provides US Gulf lightering services. AET is growing rapidly and enjoys a global reputation for delivering the highest standards of service, safety and responsibility.

Lightering involves discharging cargoes from large ships into smaller vessels that are more suited to enter the destination port. It is a highly skilled activity and AET employs around 100 people and a fleet of dedicated workboats at Galveston, Texas to ensure the highest quality of service for their customers. They also maintain the largest aframax (Average Freight Rate Assessment Scale large tanker – 79,999dwt max.) fleet in the US Gulf region (around 30 vessels), command the largest share of the US Gulf lightering market and enjoy the best on-time performance of any US Gulf operator.

John Lightfoot, chairman of South Shields based Solar Solve Marine commented, “The vast majority of the AET fleet will have been delivered with solar screens already installed by the shipbuilder but not all of them and some of those that were, have also requested some additional screens. So far we are working on orders for 18 vessels and dispatching the screens to their next ports of call so that they can be installed by the ships crew.”

“The order came from Atlas Marine Services, our world wide distributor based in Singapore. It was awarded to them by ship operator AET, who have a fleet of 74 vessels with a further 20 on order and was due to the good relationship they have established with AET for their quality service and reliability.”

“Installing the screens offers many advantages for the shipowner, the primary ones being protection of personnel and creation of a less stressful working environment. Added to these are reductions in CO2 emissions which help the environment and fuel cost savings that contribute towards paying for the screens.”